1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a voice control method for controlling the voice produced by a character that appears in a computer game, and more particularly, to a voice control method for changing the vocal characteristics of the voice of a character depending on attributes of the character.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recent progress of communications technology has realized a creation of common networks by connecting family game consoles, personal computers, etc., found in homes via, e.g., telephone lines, as well as a creation of common networks by connecting terminal equipment disposed at stores such as game centers and game cafes via optical fibers or other dedicated lines. By way of such networks it has become possible for a plurality of participants to take part in real time in conversations (“chat”) and for a plurality of players to take part in a common game.
For example, in games that are executed by a plurality of players via a network (hereinafter referred to as networked games), each player's game console (terminal apparatus) is connected to a server via the network, and by the communication of reciprocal information including information on each player's operation of each console through the server, a shared networked game can progress on each console.
In networked games each player, for example, may be represented by a character, and each player's character may fight with other characters as a combat game, or, for example, the players' characters may take part in an adventure together as a role playing game. In such games there may be a scene where the players can converse with each other using each player's character. Such a conversation may be realized, for example, by text data input by one player via a game console, the text data being sent via the network to the game console of another player and being displayed as a speech balloon in relation to a character on the screen.
FIG. 13 shows an example of such a speech balloon from a computer game screen. As shown in this figure a speech balloon containing the text is displayed next to the character and in this way the players conversation is conducted.
Moreover, due to the increasing capacity seen in the storage medium available to hold program data and the adoption of network-based distribution, it has become possible to handle larger amounts of data. For this reason a trend is developing for characters' speech, that was previously displayed entirely as text or expressed only partially as voice, to be entirely output as a voice.
Network games can be conducted with a greater sense of realism, if the characters are able to converse with each other directly using voice output instead of displaying text data in speech balloons.
When using voice output, a character's vocal characteristics may be set in advance or the player's voice may directly be output. However, setting a character's vocal characteristics in advance results in all players who choose this character having the same voice and thus making for a low level of variety. Likewise, outputting the player's voice unchanged can sometimes result in the voice being inappropriate to the character. For example, if a male player chooses a female character, this female characters ends up conversing in a male voice.